February 2017
Hello
My annual mileage is low (6000) but my trips are usually in excess of 50 miles as they are just for leisure activities. I am about to buy a new car and the deals on the car I want are mostly diesel. Citroen Picasso/Berlingo. Taking into account the lifetime savings on low VED (before March)and the fact long trips would be better for the DPF and better mpg would diesel still be the best choice.
Regards
Crofty Read more
Turns out more people are either being killed or seriously injured on the road, says the DfT. Over 25,000 apparently, according to this article.
So are there more muppets on the road, or is this just the natural order of things? Read more
Some great points.
I think 4 is particularly important though, and often overlooked. I lose count at the amount of junctions where you have to risk losing a bumper just to see if it's clear to pull out. Ridiculous!...
Could anyone give me their opinion on:
- an approximate percentage probability of me having issues with an EGR valve and / or a DPF if I buy a 6-7 year old VW Sharan? Budget £10-12k.
- an approximate cost for each at a good independent garage.
The car ticks the boxes for what I need - space etc. I'd happily get a petrol but the 1.4TSI seems more problematic than the diesel.
I understand people are having issues with the EGR/DPFs etc, but without knowing the failure / issue rate I don't know if it's similar to being struck by lightening at one end of the spectrum, or getting grey hair at the other. Read more
Thanks Charles - very helpful.
I went for a test drive on Saturday and was impressed with the Sharan - perfect for long motoroway trips....
Hi!
Looking at two Jazz's both at same dealership but different locations.
1. 60 plate ES silver, done 57000 AT £4700 ( just reduced from £5295)
2. 58 plate ES mirano red, done 29000 at £4750
Both FSH , 1 owner. Seems the obvious choice would be the 60 plate! Trouble is the 58 plate is where my son works lol!!
Which is more important, miles or age ? Read more
Thanks, but just looking at these two atm!
Keep getting a cookie from MP about delivery mile Golfs with solid paint which have been imported from abroad.
At £11995 they look impressively good value.
But are they? Read more
Interesting about the warranties - I never realised that they would be different amongst countries within the EU. Luckily I never needed it for mine - 11 years and still going strong. Deals there almost always better than main dealerships, apart from a few weeks either side of the reg or year change, and occasionally some blindingly great deals
The deal on mine was so good that the car cost me less (new) than many dealerships were selling the variant below as a second hand, 1yo old car with 10k on the clock. No depreciation for 2 years - sweet! My local dealership had no problems taking my custom for servicing, and have never had any issues with availability of parts or maintenance costs due to the small variances in the engine bay layout (very minor)....
Hi,
I recently bought a VW Golf and seller told me the code for the Gamma Radio was on the back of the radio but it isn't. I think that the car as learnt the code itself as a 4 digit code is showing in the screen but I can't get the radio, tape deck or 6 CD changer to work. Can somebody please help me as I really need some music in my car.... Read more
If it has the original radio fitted,then it should pick up any code stored from the instrument panel.When the radio is first switched on after a battery disconnect,the display should show "learn" and the unit should start to work without any code input. I could possibly get the correct code,but would need all the info off the radio label.However,realistically it may be easier just to get a more up to date unit installed.Do you really want a cassette player?and the cd changers rarely work on these.
Hi all
Newbie here.
Today, a dog ran across a high street and cars obviously broke hard, I went into the back of a lady as a result. I skidded and tried to avoid her but clipped her rear drivers side with my front passenger side. She was the shunted into another lady. The dog was not hit and ran on without a care in the world. Seconds afterwards the local police arrived and told us they were looking for said dog, It had escaped from a nearby housing estate and they were chasing it round town.
We got an incident number and they say they'd recorded that the dog caused the crash.
As I was the back car, I am to blame for the damage on the cars in front? Correct? Can I pursue the dog owner for damages to our car or are they responsible for everyone's damage?
The car is my husbands company car, I was driving and am fully insured on this car via his work insurance. They are dealing with the situation but I thought I'd get some advice in the meantime.
Now the occupants of the car I hit have taken themselves off to the local hospital. I can only presume a whiplash claim will follow. We had only just pulled away from traffic lights and I reckon I'd got into 3rd gear, about 20mph or so. Not that it matters, insurance will sort that out.
Final question, I have my own car insurance, do I tell them too? or does that only matter when I know it's been given as my fault or not?
Never had an incident so not entirely sure what happens
Thanks
Read more
The old TV ad "only a fool breaks the two second rule" - but that isn't sufficient if the driver isn't paying attention. Whether the OP was adjusting the heater, tuning the radio, distracted by something by the side of the road, or whatever else it might be, even if she was over two seconds behing the other car there could have been a collision. Lesson for all of us, particularly when we are driving on routes we know very well and which therefore breed complacency.
Hi
Could anyone tell me if a 1.1 steering rack off a 2002 car will fit a 1.4 04 plate please Read more
Thank you
I'm looking for a solicitor to help me with the following:
I purchased a BMW 530D M Sport back on the 18th December 2016, I've had numerous problems with the car and phoned up to ask for a refund/repair which happened to be on the 30th day of ownership. The trader has refused, I then wrote a detailed email listing faults and the Consumer law act 2015(I can forward on if needed), I also sent this via guaranteed royal mail delivery letter, I had no reply for 12 days so I phoned the garage, he's offered to have a look at the exhaust manifold but nothing else, I've asked for this in writing on the 31st January and haven't received anything however I did record the call. I've now had the car checked over by a BMW specialist local to me which cost £57 inc VAT to find out there are more fundamental problems with the car. I have had to keep using the car due to work, having a 6 month old son the use of a car is needed. The vehicle was advertised as having 125k miles, when purchased it had 129.5k, it's nearly on 131000 now due to use. I have also still not received the logbook. The car is also due a service when I was told it had not long had one, done by themselves priced at £130 +VAT from BMW. I've already had to replace some serviceable parts.
Below is a list of problems:
Exhaust Manifold Leaking fumes into the car.
Oil Leak
Windscreen wiper linkage has only 1 bush not two, thus making the wipers ineffective and damaging the paintwork on the bonnet and not secure.
Parking sensors have a fault, (PDC Failure)
Clunking from suspension and car pulls to the side when going over bumps.
Inspection from BMW specialist:
Engine Oil Leak,
EGR Valve Pipe Blocked off with a screw
Oil Leak on Gearbox
Steering Rack noise
Read PDC Failure
Exhaust manifold blowing
Hope to hear back from you ASAP to finally get my car sorted.
Read more
Can't help you regarding this fight Daniel. It's probably the worst thing you could've spent £5.5k on. It's a hugely complex car and one that cost the guts of £50k new with options.
I think that says it all really - a 10-year-old car only worth about 12% of its original price. Of course the value of all upmarket cars always drops like the proverbial, but there's usually a fundamental reason, as described above.
I have just been reading HJ's road test of the new Honda Civic. Sounds like a great car but I don't like the idea of controlling radio volume with touch buttons. That will be difficult to do without taking your eyes off the road. The fan speed is controlled through menus on a touch screen! How are you going to do that in heavy traffic at high speed? It is asking for disaster. I assume these touch controls are cheaper than real knobs you can turn but they certainly are not safe or easy to use. I also doubt their life span. My experience of touch buttons on printers, washing machines, radios etc are that they start to fail after about 5 or 6 years of regular use. OK - you can take the circuit board out and solder on a new one but how many of us are going to do that on a car dashboard? Read more
SWMBO's car (Range Rover), great touchscreen (big icons) works every time, full marks, (also with a lot of duplication on MFSW).
My VW with Pioneer "premium" system totally crap, the software engineers responsible should hang their heads in shame. Small icons, terrible operation, rubbish.
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The small pool of commerical vans we have including Berlingos have been upto 120,000 miles without problems but we always get shut once 3 years old.
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